Footballer Yue Hao, unable to see the ball or the goal with his eyes, relies solely on his imagination and feelings based on daily training for his perception of the football field layout.

Using various sound cues like "Voy," a Spanish word for "I go," shouted by blind football players when making a move for the ball to alert other players in defense or attack, he navigates the field, passes the ball to his teammates, scores goals and even guides other blind football players on the team. Three years ago, he also competed in a national-level sports event.

"When I'm on the field, sound becomes my eyes," said the 19-year-old Yue, a member of the provincial blind football team from southwest China's Yunnan Province, adding that he has undergone football training for nearly five years.

Born and raised in the rural areas of Yunnan's Zhaotong City, Yue experienced a gradual deterioration of his eyesight due to a congenital eye disease during his formative years. By the age of five, his vision had significantly declined, rendering him almost blind.

Yet, blindness did not rob him of childhood joys. Around the age of six or seven, he had his first experience playing "football," although it wasn't with a regular one. Instead, some of his friends deflated a basketball and kicked it around.

Losing interest in playing football due to visual impairment, things started to change for Yue in 2019 when he was recommended to join the Yunnan blind football team because of his athletic abilities.

"The first time I kicked a real football, it felt different from what I had imagined. I could locate the ball as it made a jingling sound (because the football for the blind has little steel balls inside that make noise when it moves). And previously, I thought blind football was all about passing the ball back and forth, without any dribbling involved," he said.

Over the years, Yue has not only mastered technical skills through training, such as passing and dribbling but also discovered transformations occurring within his inner self. "I no longer harbored a sense of hopelessness toward the future, stopped shying away from taking risks, and began to feel more optimistic. I grew courageous," he said.

In 2021, Yue competed in China's 14th National Games held in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, representing the Shaanxi provincial blind football team. He aspires to join China's national blind football team in the future.

Similar to Yue, Zhu Dongqiong, 25, also has an inspiring journey. A fourth-year student at the Special Education College of Changchun University in northeast China's Jilin Province, she is a visually impaired female member of the Yunnan provincial blind football team.

Zhu joined the team in March this year. "When I first stepped onto the field with my eyes covered, I was too afraid to run. In the initial stages of training, I frequently stumbled or collided with the barriers surrounding the field," she said. With the guidance of the coach and the company of her teammates, she gradually gained the courage to run on the field, she added.

In addition to football, Zhu has also tried her hand at other sports such as track and field and cross-country skiing. "With every attempt, run and chase, I strive to become a better version of myself," she said.

Zhu's major at university is rehabilitation therapy. Before getting involved in sports, the only future possibility she could envision was becoming a masseuse. However, her involvement in sports has yielded commendable results across various competitions, which brought more possibilities for her future career.

"After engaging in sports, I have become more optimistic, and my physical fitness has improved," she said.

Yue Jiankun, head coach of the Yunnan provincial blind football team and a physical education teacher at the Kunming school for visually impaired and mute people, has been teaching physical education classes and conducting blind football training sessions for over 20 years. He has also cultivated eight footballers for China's national blind football team.

"I think sports play a significant role in the rehabilitation of students. Whether it is physical or psychological, sports have a profound impact," he said. "While achieving ideal results in sports competitions is important, qualities such as strength, courage, optimism and resilience that students develop through participating in sports have a profound impact on their overall growth."

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